There are a wide variety of different types of business data systems. Some such systems include customer relations management (CRM) systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, line-of-business (LOB) applications, and other business systems. These types of systems often enable creation and maintaining of business data records. Some of these records include customer records that have details about customers, vendor records that include details of vendors, sales records, sales proposals, quotes, order records, records that contain product or service information, and records related to business contacts, among many others. The system can also include workflows that enable users to perform various tasks and workflows using the business data system.
An example of a workflow provided in some business data systems is one that allow(s) users or organizations to track various business opportunities. For instance, if there is an opportunity to make a sale of products or services to another organization, the business data system allows users to enter information that may be helpful in converting that opportunity into an actual sale. Similarly, some such systems allow many other types of tasks or workflows to be performed as well. For instance, some systems allow users to prepare a quote for a potential customer. Then, when the customer accepts the terms of the quote, the user can convert the quote into an actual order. These are merely two examples of a wide variety of different types of tasks and workflows that can be performed within a business data system.
In performing these and other types of tasks and workflows, some users may wish to contact other people associated with the business data records being operated on. For instance, where a customer has a primary contact, it may be that the user wishes to call or otherwise communicate with that person in order to discuss the terms of a proposal or order. Therefore, some business data systems allow a user to search for contacts, and communicate with a given contact.
The use of mobile devices is also increasing rapidly. Some mobile devices include smart phones, cellular telephones, and tablet computers, to name a few. These types of devices often have different types of user input mechanisms than desktop computers. For example, a desktop computer may have user interface displays with user input mechanisms that can be actuated by a point and click device (such a mouse or track ball) or a hardware keyboard. However, mobile devices often have touch sensitive screens. This enables a user to actuate user input mechanisms using touch gestures, such as by using a finger, a stylus, or other device.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.